A letter from Nick: Thank you for an unforgettable 2023
Dear Casa members,
What a difference a year makes. When our team first began 2023, we had concluded an arduous 2022 campaign in which we watched exchanges and custodians collapse, bitcoin and crypto prices fall, and savvy investors take refuge in self-custody.
The need for self-custody has only amplified in 2023. If last year was the year of the failing crypto exchange, 2023 was the year of the failing bank. We watched like everyone else as Silicon Valley Bank and other banking institutions failed, and cascading bank runs would have caused systemic lockup and failure unless the government stepped in as a backstop. It was incredible to see those events juxtaposed against bitcoin, which kept processing blocks undeterred.
We did not know how long the turmoil would last, but we knew the mission of Casa was more important than ever before. To realize the potential of bitcoin and other innovations, we need to make holding private keys easy for individuals and families around the world, and we have made another leap in 2023. Bear markets are for building, and I am pleased to say the Casa team has made good on that promise this year.
One way we have seen that vision through was through the careful management of Casa’s bitcoin treasury. Since 2020, whenever our members opted to pay for their plan in BTC, those sats went into self-custody on our balance sheet. We have never sold any of that bitcoin. Recently, we saw an opportunity to go a step further and add to our holdings. So yes, Casa bought the dip and Casa HODLed. While we have enjoyed seeing bitcoin go up and to the right this year, what excites us most is how this empowers us to continue building and solving meaningful problems for our members.
This year, we were proud to expand our vaults, beginning with ethereum (ETH) in June and dollar-pegged stablecoins (USDT and USDC) in December. This was a large-scale undertaking and one our members have been asking for since Casa’s beginning. We redesigned the Casa app to be easier to use, and we introduced the vault concept to simplify how we talk about multisig and self-custody. Now, whether you’re looking to secure bitcoin, ethereum, or stablecoins, you can manage them from one home.
A classic narrative around bitcoin has long been the idea of being your own bank. Now with bitcoin and stablecoins, you can build a portfolio with a self-custody vault alternative to the legacy banking system. This allows you to manage custodial and systemic risk from multiple angles, growing your options when it comes to building monetary resilience.
As we look ahead to next year, many of our members are interested in the prospect of a spot bitcoin ETF and what it means for self-custody. While the ETF might be good for investors with special purpose accounts that can’t access bitcoin directly, we believe a significant amount of bitcoin's value is and will continue to be based around the ability to custody it yourself. The real innovations to come in bitcoin will come for those who use the actual asset with their own keys, not necessarily for those participating passively via the ETF. Self-custody is king.
As we build on Casa’s mission in 2024, we’ll continue listening to you and solving the problems you tell us about. So please tell us! I’ve spoken with Casa members every week for the last few months, and it has been incredibly fun and rewarding to hear from you about what you value in Casa, and how we can make it better for you.
Thank you for being a Casa member and giving us reason to build. On behalf of the Casa team, I wish you and your loved ones a happy holiday season and prosperity in 2024.
Best,
Nick Neuman
Casa Co-Founder and CEO